A Dirty Bar, A Dirty Life.

8. A Lovely View.

On the way back to Rafael's apartment, Rafael seemed... Suspicious. Of course, he was holding Cadence's hand, telling her how great she had done at the first part of the trial, but he was glued to his phone. They got to his apartment, Rafael holding the door open for Cadence as she stepped out.

"Hey... Are you okay?" Cadence asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Rafael smiled and left a kiss on her forehead. Cadence felt a small vibration coming from her purse, taking it out and reading the notification from Olivia.

'U need a pick-me-up. We r going 2 go shopping. I'll b @ ur place in 5.'

"It's Liv. She wants to take me shopping." Cadence looked at Rafael, quirking a brow.

"What are you looking at me like that for? Go ahead, have fun. Pick out something nice, okay?" He grabbed her hand, kissing her knuckles as Olivia's cab pulled up. Cadence waved bye as she stepped inside the cab.

Rafael breathed a sigh of relief, pulling out his phone and dialing Fin.

"You guys on the roof already?"

"Yeah, bro. We got the lights set up already. We still need some help with decorations and the table."

"Right. See you and Nick up there in 3."

...

Cadence looked out the window, furrowing as she realized they were in the upper-east side of New York's shopping district.

"L-Liv? Are we in the right place?" Cadence looked to Olivia, who had a smile on her face.

"Yep! And don't worry about the price. Rafael has you covered."

Cadence's eyes widened. "I-I can't, I don't want him to spend his money on--"

"On someone he cares deeply about? Besides. CSU checked your drawers. Your clothes were all torn to shreds anyway." The cab stopped, Cadence stepping out and gasping. Large silver lettering on the building told her that she was about to enter Bloomingdales.

"Bloomingdales? This is one of the most expensive stores in New York!"

Olivia stood behind her, smirking. "That's why Rafael wanted us to stop here first, specifically."

Olivia hooked her arm into Cadence's, walking through the expensive department store, right to the women's clothing section.

"What sizes are you, sweetie?" Asked a sales associate.

"XL in shirts, 16 in pants, 16 in dresses."

Olivia whispered something to the sales associate, who then changed to a wide, perky smile.

"It seems as though we already have some style directions for you, Ms. Hampton. We have a few things put aside for you to look at, under Mr. Barba's instructions."

Cadence looked at Olivia strangely as she was escorted to a dressing room.

Olivia made a quick call.

"We're here, Rafael. She seems a little weirded out by this whole thing."

Rafael, on the other side of the call, sighed. "It'll be alright. Tell her that while I did have some style suggestions, that she has full control over what she wears."

"I will."

"Hey Liv?"

"Yeah?"

"...I owe you. I want to thank you for helping me put this together for Cadence. She has been so worried about the trial, I figured she nee--"